Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR OPTICS

An atomic spin on amplification of light

Non-reciprocal physical systems exhibit direction-dependent propagation of light, enabling a myriad of devices such as diodes and circulators. A new experiment demonstrates non-reciprocal amplification of light via atomic spins, driving photons on a one-way street through optical nanofibres.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Circularly polarized photons travelling through optical nanofibres.
Fig. 2: Atomic level structure with two Lambda-type transitions.

References

  1. Faraday, M. Philos. Trans.R. Soc. London 136, 1–20 (1846).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Caloz, C. et al. Phys. Rev. Appl. 10, 047001 (2018).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Pucher, S., Liedl, C., Jin, S., Rauschenbeutel, A. & Schneeweiss, P. Nat. Photon. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-022-00987-z (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Scheucher, M., Hilico, A., Will, E., Volz, J. & Rauschenbeutel, A. Science 354, 1577–1580 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Sayrin, C. et al. Phys. Rev. X 5, 041036 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Van Mechelen, T. & Jacob, Z. Optica 3, 118–126 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Mathur, B. S., Tang, H. & Happer, W. Phys. Rev. 171, 11 (1968).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Kanu Sinha or Elizabeth A. Goldschmidt.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sinha, K., Goldschmidt, E.A. An atomic spin on amplification of light. Nat. Photon. 16, 339–340 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-022-00992-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-022-00992-2

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing